TSA makes $400,000 off loose change, SFO one of the worst

The Transportation Security Administration made more than $400,000 in 2010 from all the coins, bills and foreign currency travelers left behind at airport checkpoints.

Sometimes people forget the money and sometimes foreign travelers returning home simply feel they don’t need to take the U.S. change back with them, David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, told USA Today.

San Francisco International Airport was the fourth-worst offender. Passengers there left $15,908.02 at security checkpoints.

The TSA makes every effort to alert weary travelers that they’ve left money behind, but any money that isn’t returned goes to fund TSA operations, a spokesman said.

A Florida Republican says the loose change should be used to fund military welcome centers at airports around the globe, according to USA Today.

“Allowing TSA to keep unclaimed taxpayer money for any and all purposes is an egregious breach of its duty to the public that it serves,” Rep. Jeff Miller wrote in a letter. “This money should be put to good use, and there is no better organization to use this money wisely than the USO.”